


Heaven is You

by BriMarie



Series: Start of Something New [2]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff, Merging, Romantic Fluff, Song fic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, high school musical the musical the series - Freeform, hsmtmts, nothing but love and happiness, rini - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28646784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMarie/pseuds/BriMarie
Summary: Ricky and Nini falling in love with each other more and more each day.~Sequel to What I've Been Looking For~
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Series: Start of Something New [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2099352
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Heaven is You

**Author's Note:**

> You probably wanna read the first one it's based off of before reading if you haven't already.

Ricky had woken up in an unfamiliar room. It took him a second to realize where he was. He had completely forgotten that he was in a brand new bed and sharing it with his gorgeous girlfriend.

A few months after their families met, Ricky and Nini had been having weekly dinners at one another's homes. It was usually at Nini's since she had an actual house with much more space. 

Eventually those weekly dinners became every other day dinners, then they became every evening, and finally it was just expected to eat dinner together all the time. Eli and Maya adored each other. They loved playing with one another and asking to do sleepovers. 

The parents would always say yes both because they loved that their kids got along, and it gave them an excuse to see each other. The two families began to merge since they spent so much time together; even their schedules were starting to correlate so that they could see each other more.

After a full year together, Ricky and Nini decided to move in with each other. It didn't take much convincing for the kids when they heard the news. Matter of fact, they rejoiced since they both were excited to get a sibling. Since Nini had the larger home with an extra bedroom, it was logical for him and Maya to move in with her.

Ricky's place was small, and him and Maya didn't have too many belongings. Any additional furniture of theirs was moved to storage. It took three weeks to move in with the Salazar-Roberts, and so far it's been magical.

Ricky looked down to see Nini gently snoring on his chest. She looked so peaceful in his arms, and it made his heart warm. He tried to carefully remove himself from her to not wake her up, but she began fluttering her eyelids. She rubbed her eye until she could see clearly.

She smiles when she sees he's looking at her. "Morning."

He stroked through her hair. "Morning beautiful." He reached down and gave her a peck on the cheek. 

She blushes at the compliment and scoots up so that she can kiss him properly. She cups his face and plants a soft kiss on his lips. 

She rests her head in the crook of his neck. "I love waking up next to you. Moving in together was the best decision I ever made."

He smiles and holds her tighter. "It's one of the very few decisions I've made that I don't regret. I love our little family, and I love you."

She began kissing along his neck until she arrived at his lips. They kissed slowly and passionately. Nini got more centered on top of him, and his hands sunk down to her waist. He broke the kiss to suck on her neck a bit, causing her to blissfully sigh. 

"Do you wanna go further?"

He doesn't pull his face from her neck as he answers. "Depends, are the kids up yet?"

She looks at the clock on the nightstand and saw it read 8 am. There's no way in hell those kids are willingly up this early on a Saturday. 

"We're in the clear."

He smirks against her neck. "Good."

He surprises her by rolling her on her back, causing her to squeal. They both giggle before pressing their lips together. She thinks mornings like these with him are her favorite.

***

Ricky had been in charge of taking the kids to school today. The kids had been talking amongst themselves in a hushed tone. They clearly didn't want Ricky to overhear whatever they were saying. Maya had lightly tapped her dad with her foot.

"Daddy?"

"What is it sweetheart?"

"When are you gonna marry Nini?"

He almost crashed the car at her question. He indeed was not ready for such a heavy question this early in the morning from a 4 year old.

"Oh um, what made you ask that?"

Eli jumped in on the convo. "We figured you'd eventually propose if you moved in, so are you gonna marry my mommy or not?"

Ricky suddenly felt pressured. "Is that something you guys would be okay with? I know you guys get along and like living together, but marrying is a big deal."

The kids looked at each other and smiled. They turned to him and nodded. "Daddy, I love Nini. She's the mommy I always wanted."

"Yeah, and I think of you as a dad and Maya as a sister. I'm totally cool with it!" Eli says giving him a thumbs up through the rear view mirror. 

Ricky felt joy overcome him at the two kids he adored the most giving him the green light to marry the love of his life. He had been thinking of marrying her for a while now and was going to talk to them about it when it was time. It seemed they beat him to it though.

It felt nice to know that Eli saw him as a father figure, and Maya saw Nini as a mom. He has no reason not to propose to her. He knows she's his one and only. 

"Thanks guys. Would you guys like to help me propose?"

The kids both gasp and begin cheering which he had to assume was a yes.

"Great, I'll let you guys know the plan when I come up with one."

After he dropped off the kids, he couldn't stop thinking about marrying Nini. He pictured them saying their vows to one another, her walking down the aisle with her dream dress, him finally being able to call her his wife, and his favorite part was that their family would be even more complete. 

He spent a lot of his free time that day brainstorming on how to appropriately propose to her. When he was passing by a flower shop on his way back from work, he got an idea of what he wanted to do.

***

"Eli for the last time you can not ride on the shopping cart. It's very dangerous, and last time you hit Maya so hard she got a bruise." Nini says with an annoyed tone.

Maya held up the leg that the said bruise was on. "I still have it!"

Eli groaned obnoxiously. "But it's so much fun!"

"No Eli, and that's final."

He folded his arms and began pouting. "You're no fun mommy. Ricky would let me do it. Isn't that right?" He looked up at him with a hopeful expression.

Ricky held his hands up and backed away. "I'm not getting involved in this. Last time I took your side on something, she yelled at me for ten minutes. You're on your own little dude."

Eli stuck his tongue out at him. "Suck up." He says under his breath. 

Nini scowled at her son challengingly. "Don't start."

Ricky hid his laughter from the clearly annoyed pair. "Hey, I'm gonna go get some bread on the other side of the store. Can you watch the kids? It'll be quick."

She nods. "Yeah, that's fine."

He pecks Nini's cheek before strolling over to the opposite end of the store. As he was searching for their usual brand in the aisle, he hears a familiar voice.

"Abby, don't run sweetheart."

He pauses completely when he registered who the voice belonged to. Surely it couldn't be who he thought it was. He slowly turned his head towards the owner of the voice and all color drained from his face.

The woman was redheaded, green eyed, freckle faced, and still overall looked the same as she did when they first met all those years ago. At first, he thought it couldn't have been true, but then she meets his eye and there's no denying it. 

Terra.

She seems to recognize him immediately too as she stares at him like a thief getting caught stealing. He couldn't help but notice the little girl beside her and the man holding the girl's hand. He had an idea of who they were to her, but he didn't want to make assumptions.

She's the first to move. She whispers something to the man she's with before making her way over to Ricky. She walks with hesitation and stands a few inches away from him.

"Hi."

Ricky gives her pointed look. "Uh, hi."

"It's been a while hasn't it?"

He scoffed as he folded his arms. "Yeah, four years going on five kinda soon."

She awkwardly rubs up her arm. "Yeah time really flies I guess."

There's an awkward pause between the pair. She was more fidgety than Ricky since she knew that she was in the wrong. 

She sighed. "I'm sorry for bailing like that. You and the baby didn't deserve that."

Ricky rolled his eyes. "Whatever Terra." He grabbed his bread and began walking past her. She gripped his arm, causing him to turn back to her.

"So you're just gonna walk off like that?"

That seemed to have lit a fire in him he wasn't aware he had. "Yeah why not? I mean, you had no problem running off to god knows where without giving me any warning. Who does that?!"

She bit the inside of her cheek. "I said I was sorry, okay? I was going through something and wasn't ready to embrace motherhood or a long term relationship yet."

Ricky felt his anger rising in his body. "You weren't ready?! Terra, neither of us were ready to become parents at 19! But the difference between you and me is that I stayed and didn't lie to your face about wanting to keep her. You waited until she was born to ditch us, and sorry just isn't going to cut it."

Her eyes began to well up. "I-I can explain."

He holds up his hand. "Save it. I don't think any explanation could ever make anything better. You made it clear that you wanted nothing to do with us, so I never tried to search for answers. I've been fine without an excuse for years, and that won't change just because you're in front of me."

He glanced over at the man and child she was with. They were waiting for her to return to them. He looked back at the redhead in front of him. 

"Is that your husband?"

She nods. "Fiancé actually. We'll be married in a few weeks. That's actually why I'm in town. We'll be leaving the state right after."

He almost hated to ask, but he had to know. "And the girl?"

She closed her eyes and looked down at the ground in shame. "That's my daughter Abby."

He had figured it was, but he didn't want to believe it. "I see."

"I had her a year after our baby-"

" _My_ baby. She's mine only. You don't get to call her yours anymore."

She nods in understanding. "Right, _your_ baby." She played with the ends of her cardigan as she tried to muster up the strength to ask a burning question she's had for a while now. "What's her name?"

"Maya Allison Bowen."

She smiles. "That's a pretty name. I'm sure she ended up beautiful."

"She is. She's my whole life."

"I understand that now. I wish I understood that sooner. Maybe I wouldn't have done what I did to you two."

Ricky shrugs. "Everything happens for a reason."

Another moment of silence goes by. She pushed strands of hair behind her ear. "Is she um...is she here with you?" She asks so quietly it came off as a whisper.

He debates on telling her that. He always tried to figure out what he'd do if she ever suddenly decided to come back or if he happened to bump into her while Maya is around, but he never thought that day would actually come.

He never knew how Maya would react if she were to ever meet her mom, and he was scared Terra would somehow mess up so horribly if she abruptly entered their lives. Terra had always been a little on edge and wasn't known for making the best decisions.

But as he looks at her now, she seems to have calmed down a lot sense he last saw her. He doesn't think she's too much of a threat to Maya if she decided to introduce herself, but he knew Terra. 

She's a coward. She could never fully explain to her daughter why she abandoned her at birth, especially when she's here with her half sister she doesn't know about. I mean, what could she possibly say to make up for abandoning one family to make another one?

He nods. "Yes, she's with my girlfriend."

"Um do you mind if I see her?"

Ricky scrunched up his face in discomfort. "I don't think that's the best idea."

"Oh, yeah that's totally justified. I just wanted to see what she looked like now. I don't have to talk to her. Only if that's okay with you."

He sighed heavily. He peaked a few aisles down and saw Maya playing a hand game with Eli as Nini shopped from the distance. He smiled at the scene in front of him, always loving seeing them all getting along.

He pointed at his daughter. "That's her in the pink dress."

Terra peered at her and smiled. She looked almost exactly like her dad with her curly brown hair and hazel eyes. She even had his nose. She doesn't see a singular trace of herself in her, and maybe that was a sign. She was always meant to be all his. 

"She's beautiful."

"I know."

She hadn't noticed she was tearing up at the sight of her estranged daughter. "Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn't. You're doing a better job than I ever could have with her. She's lucky to have you as a dad."

"Thank you."

She wiped the few tears that were resting on her cheeks before straightening up. "Well, it was nice seeing you Ricky. You seem like you're doing well for yourself."

"I am."

"Take care Ricky."

And on that note, she turned on her heel and made her way back to her family. He watched as they walked away, knowing that this would most likely be the last time he sees her.

He finally walked back to his little family. Nini looked at him skeptically when she saw his face.

"Hey, you were gone for a while? Everything okay?"

He nods as he places the bread in the cart. "Yeah, just got lost for a second. You find everything?"

She nods. "Yep, we can head out."

He smiles and rests his hand on her back. "Good, let's go home."

He presses a loving kiss on her temple, making her blush. He watched as the kids skipped in front of them as they went to the register. 

Seeing Terra was like seeing a ghost from his past. It was weird bumping into her, but he felt as if a wound he wasn't aware was open was finally sealed. He finally could be at rest with his ex despite not knowing why exactly she decided to leave, but that wasn't important.

In the end, he knew that they were better off out of each other's lives. His family was right here in front of him, and he wouldn't change a damn thing.

***

Today was the day.

Today was the day he was finally going to propose to the woman of his dreams.

He was a nervous mess all day. He wanted everything to go perfectly. He's been planning this for two months now, yet he still somehow feels underprepared. Everything was going according to plan so far, so he was happy about that at least.

He had the kids keep Nini occupied while he set everything up in the house. It was a day job, so he had the kids convince her to take them to their Lola's house for a few hours and to a park. 

He was finishing the last few touches on some of the flowers he bought for her. When he was finally done, he took a gander at his work. He felt proud of himself for having this all done in a span of a few hours all by himself.

Nini's moms were also in on the plan, and he told them that he'd text when it was time for her to come over. The moment he sent them the message, they sent a thumbs up meaning she's in route.

He felt his palms become sweatier by the second. He decided to drink some water and spray on some more cologne to help calm him down and not sweat through his clothes. He's not sure why he's so nervous. He knows Nini loves him, and she even said herself that she planned on marrying him one day.

Thirty minutes later, he hears the kids running through the door. Ricky springs up from his spot and looks at them expectantly.

"You both ready?" They nodded enthusiastically, trying to hold in their excitement. "Good, go get in your places."

The kids did as told and ran to their stations. A few seconds later, Nini walks into the house, confused on why all the lights were off.

"Kids? Ricky?"

Suddenly, the dining room light turns on. Ricky is standing in there already waiting for her. She looks at him questioningly. 

"What's going on, and why are you dressed so nicely? We weren't going anywhere today were we?"

He chuckled and shakes his head. "No, but you'll find out in a second what's going on. Come here." He motions for her to come to him, and she smiles.

She sets her stuff aside and approached him. When she saw the dining room, her mouth gaped at the sight in front of her. Their normal dining room set was replaced with a bouquet of all her favorite flowers. She rested a hand on her chest before looking up at her boyfriend. 

"Ricky, what is this?"

He grins and interlaces their fingers. "On our official second date as a couple, we were leaving from a restaurant and we passed by a flower shop. You loved pink roses and Peruvian lilies the most. When you kept going on about it, I knew I had to get you some. So the following day I left a huge bouquet of them on your porch, and your smile was so full of joy. Do you remember that?"

She nodded, smiling at the fond memory. "That was really sweet of you to do, but why'd you feel the need to do this? Am I missing something?"

He kissed the back of her hand. "Follow me."

He led her to the kitchen; Eli flicked the light switch when he saw them. Ricky led them to the counter where it had a series of photos all aligned in chronological order. She glanced over a few of them, recapping all of the memories of their time together.

"Every single one of these photos were taken after we introduced our kids and became one family. I love how well we all get along and work together. It was like we were a match made in heaven. I thank the universe for bringing you to me in that restaurant all those months ago. I never would've thought I'd meet my other half."

She began tearing up. She picked up a photo of all four of them at an amusement park and smiled. She tightened her grip on his hand. "This is incredible! I love this so much, but you didn't tell me what's happening yet."

He for once was actually glad Nini was not exactly the best at picking up cues like this. "You'll know in a little bit. Come on, there's more." 

This time Maya turned on the light as they stepped onto the back porch before skipping to her spot next to Eli. The kids had watched from the bench, excited to see Nini's reaction. Outside stood mini-sets of what at first seemed like random places. 

Nini squinted, trying to make out what was in front of her. "Babe, what's all this?"

He smirks. "Why don't you go take a good look?" 

She gives him a playful look before letting go of his hand and walking over to each mini-set. The first one was a little cut out of a restaurant. At first, she didn't know what it meant until she saw the name "Provino's," which was the place they first met at. 

She went to the second one, which was a cut out of the arcade they had their first kiss at. Franklin was lying on the table. She felt her eyes welling up. That was still one of her favorite dates with him. 

She strolled to the third one and noticed it immediately since it was a cut out of her house. She saw that he took the the time to paint on it. She also noticed the kids had done a little artwork on it too based off the random small handprints. It was a picture of them eating chocolate chip pancakes she prepared the morning after their first sleepover. 

She let out a chuckle at how adorable this whole thing was. She couldn't fight the tears from falling like a waterfall off her cheeks. 

She went to the fourth cut out. It had another painted photo, but it was just of her and Ricky. He clearly did this photo alone since it was of them on a picnic date on the beach. She remembers that day clearly. For her birthday, he took them to California for the weekend while her moms watched the kids. 

They had spent so many nights on the warm and calm sand, forgetting about all their problems and responsibilities. It was the most relaxed she had been in a while, and it was a long overdue vacation. 

She _definitely_ made sure to show him how thankful she was that weekend when they got back to their suite. She began blushing at the memory of it before shaking her head of such lustful thoughts.

She finally arrived at the last one. She registered that it was a cut out of their backyard, but she didn't understand what the painting on it meant. She saw what she could tell was supposed to be Ricky on one knee. When she couldn't wrap her brain around this memory, she turned around to face him.

"Hey Ricky, which-"

She cuts herself off by resting a hand on her mouth when she sees him down on one knee holding up a huge diamond ring. Her eyes go wide in shock.

"Ricky..."

"Before you say anything, can I get something off my chest?"

She just nods as she wipes tears from her face. 

He takes a deep breath before continuing. "Nini, we've been together for almost two years, and I've never been so happy in my life. After Maya's mom, I didn't think I'd ever find someone who was willing to commit to me, but then you appeared in my life. There are so many things I love about you Nini. I could probably write an entire book on every single thing I love about you, but for now I'm only going to tell you my top three."

"One, I love how you treat the kids. You treat my child as if she were your own, and I'm so grateful for that. You give them so much affection that every child needs, the affection that I would've craved when I was a kid."

"Two, I love your caring personality. You don't only care for our children, but also the one's you love. You'll bake someone an entire cake if you found out they had a bad day. You'd buy your coworker's lunch if you found out they didn't have enough money to pay for it. Hell, you even attempted to fight a nagging parent when I complained about one of my student's mom. It might come off as intense to others, but it's just how you show you care."

"Three, I love the little things you do to tell me you love me. Sometimes you tell me by saying it to me. Sometimes you leave cutesy little notes on the fridge saying you left a plate for me. Other times you show me by kissing me until I'm breathless." 

He grabs her hand and rubs his thumb on the back of it. "Nini, I love you so much. I never wanna know what life would be like without you and your son. You've both brought so much joy into Maya and I's lives. I love all of you and want to make sure that we continue to be happy together til' we're old and gray with grandkids. I'm willing to share my life with you; I'm just hoping you feel the same."

"Nina Salazar-Roberts, will you marry me?" 

Nini couldn't even speak anymore due to her tears and quiet sobs. She dropped down to her knees and cupped his face. 

"Yes, of course I'll marry you! I want nothing more!"

She brought him into a loving kiss, and he immediately kissed her back with equivalent affection. They both smiled against each other's lips. He breaks off the kiss when he heard the kids giggling at them. 

He takes her left hand and slides the ring on her finger. She marveled at the breathtaking rock on her hand. "You really outdid yourself this time babe."

"You deserve it." He pecked her cheek, making her blush. The kids ran over to them and jumped on their parents. 

"Does this mean we're finally a family?" Eli asks his mom.

She wraps an arm around her kid. "Sweetheart, we've always been a family."

The little boy smiles and hugs his mom. 

Maya looked up at her dad when realization struck. "Wait does that mean I get to be a flower girl?!" 

He chuckled and stroked through her curls. "Of course you can." 

Maya squealed and clapped. "Yay, I'm gonna wear my Rapunzel dress!"

He laughs nervously. "We'll see about that princess." 

"I'm gonna go pull it out!" She jumped out of her dad's lap and ran to her bedroom. 

"If she's wearing her dress, I'm wearing my Darth Vader costume!" Eli chases after her to his bedroom. 

The parents laugh at their kid's innocence. Nini rests her head on his shoulder. "I love them so much."

"Yeah, I can't wait to have more."

She kissed his shoulder. "It's getting pretty late; let's go inside."

He helped her from the ground, and they walked hand in hand back into their home. 

(She may have shown him just how happy she was about the proposal when the kids went to sleep).

***

Nini nervously waits for her timer to go off. Every passing second felt far too long. She was sure she'd spiral soon if she didn't have her results. 

She sprung from the edge of the bathtub when her timer went off. She picks up the stick and feels her heart racing at the results.

Positive. 

She let out a hefty sigh. She had figured she was. She was late by two weeks, and she felt fatigue at random times of the day. It was the same symptoms she had with Eli.

Her and Ricky weren't trying for a kid, but it's not like they were trying to prevent one either. She wishes that she got pregnant a little later since she was currently planning a wedding, but if anyone knows how to deal with an unplanned pregnancy, it's them. 

She's not sure how he'll react. Sure he said he wanted kids eventually, but she's confident he didn't mean three months after proposing. Then she remembered the kids. She already knows they've been wanting a baby brother or sister since they moved in together, so she's sure they won't mind. 

"Nini, we're home!"

She jumps at the sudden sound of her name. She can hear the footsteps of her kids running around the living room; she realized there'd be even more loud footsteps in the future. 

When she didn't reply, Ricky walked to their bedroom to check if she were home. 

He smiled when he saw her. "Hey you." 

"Hey." 

He notices how stiff she was and knew something was up. He cracks the door, so the kids know not to come in. "Everything okay? You look spooked." 

"Oh um, it's just I got quite some news a few minutes ago."

She begins rubbing up and down her arm anxiously and looks down at the ground. He knows that's one of her nervous ticks. He walks up to her and lifts her chin; he places a peck on her lips. 

"What's wrong babe?"

She gazes into his eyes, trying her best to build up the courage to tell him the life changing news. He moves his hand from her chin to her cheek. His other arm wraps around her waist to pull her closer as he waited for her to answer.

"I'm all ears when you're ready Neens." 

She rests her head on his chest and brought him into a hug. She figured it'd be easier to tell him if she weren't looking directly in his eyes. "How do you feel about possibly adding onto our family?"

He raises a brow. "Like a kid? I thought I already told you I wanted one someday. Why, are you thinking we should have one soon?"

"That's one way to put it."

"What do you mean?"

She reached into her back pocket and handed him the test. He completely froze when he saw what it was and the results on it. She untangled from his arms when he doesn't move. 

She sees a look of pure shock on his face, and she's not sure whether or not to take that as a good sign or not. "Penny for your thoughts." 

Her voice takes him out of his trance. "Is-is this legit?"

She nods. "Yep, it's the real deal."

"So we're having a baby?"

"According to the test, yeah."

He begins tearing up and smiles from ear to ear. He runs up to her, picks her up, and holds her to his chest.

"We're having a baby!"

"Y-you're not upset?"

He looks at her weird. "Upset?! Nini, I'm thrilled to be having a kid with you. Why wouldn't I be?"

She shrugged. "I just thought you'd be a little upset since we planned to have kids after the wedding."

He places her back on the ground and cupped her face. "Neens, I don't care when we have more kids, as long as it's with you."

She beams and begins tearing up too. "Happy to hear it."

He was about to press a kiss to her lips but was interrupted by the sound of their kids running into their room. 

"Did you say mommy was having a baby?!" Eli asks.

Ricky smiles. "Were you guys snooping on us?"

The kids made guilty expressions. "Are you mad?" Maya asked.

Ricky shakes his head and ruffles her hair. "No, baby girl. You were gonna find out soon anyways." 

The kids both start cheering, and they hug one another before hugging their parents legs.

"We're gonna be a big brother and sister! I hope it's a boy, so I finally have someone to play video games with."

Maya scoffs. "You wish! It's gonna be a girl, so we can play tea party with Franklin and my other teddies."

"Alright, calm down kiddos. We don't know the gender yet, but either way we'll all welcome this baby into the family with love. Now, go play in the living room. Ricky and I have a lot to discuss." 

Maya gives her a toothy smile. "Okay mommy! Come on Eli, I think LazyTown is on." 

Nini was taken aback by Maya's words. She watched as the kids ran along and began forming a new set of happy tears. "She called me mommy. She's never called me that before." 

He smiles and rests his forehead on hers. "Yeah, I heard."

"I think this might be one of the best days of my life." 

"Yeah." He places a hand on her stomach. "Definitely one of the best so far."

She gets on her tippy toes and brings him into a kiss. When she pulls away and looks into his eyes, she's sure she got a glimpse of heaven. 

***

_I always heard there was a heaven  
I never knew if it was true  
But darlin', ever since I met you  
I know that heaven is you_

**Author's Note:**

> Enough of the folks on Wattpad requested a sequel, so I went ahead and did it :)
> 
> Quote is from Josh's song Heaven is You.


End file.
